HANCOCK, Mich.-- North Central University Volleyball claimed a pair of non-conference road wins on Friday night. The Rams knocked off Mount Mary College and host Finlandia University at the Paavo Nurmi Center to surpass their 2014 win total with at least nine more matches left to play this season.

North Central (8-12, 0-4 UMAC) jumped out to an early lead in the first set against Mount Mary College (Milwaukee, Wis.) and never trailed in the opening frame, earning a 25-14 win with just 4 attack errors. The Blue Angels would respond by taking a 4-0 lead in the second set but the Rams ripped off six straight points to take the lead and they would never trail again in the match taking set two 25-17 and finishing off the match with a 25-18 win in the third. 

Junior Karlee Huber (Rapid City, S.D./Dakota Wesleyan Univ.) led the Rams with a match high nine kills while adding 14 digs. Senior Karlee Cox (Des Moines, Iowa/Saydel) notched eight kills and junior Elissa Pheneger (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) posted 26 assists and 10 digs. Senior Whitney Reames (Vassar, Mich./Vassar) recorded a team high 16 digs.

In the final match of the day, NCU took on host Finlandia University (Hancock, Mich.) for the second time in 2015. The Rams took a 3-0 decision over the Lions at home last Friday on NCU Parents night. The teams would play an exciting match this time around before NCU was able to take a 3-1 victory. 

Set one saw the Lions take a five point lead several times including 10-5 and 20-15 before NCU was able to grab a 25-23 win. With the Lions still smarting from a tough opening set the Rams claimed the second frame 25-18. However, Finlandia recovered to keep their hopes alive by taking the third set 25-17.

The fourth set proved to be both uneven offensively and decisive on the final outcome of the match. Both teams struggled on the attack with NCU posting a narrow .077 to .040 kill percentage advantage with just 10 kills in the frame in a 25-21 final set win.

Three Rams reached double figures in kills with Karlee Huber again leading NCU with 12 kills and 16 digs. Sophomore Ashley Kelzer (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) posted 11 kills while junior Katie Strand (Kenyon, Minn./Keynon-Wanamingo) added 10.

Junior Anna Larson () led all players with 22 digs while Whitney Reams posted 15 digs of her own to become just the 11th player in NCU history over 900 career digs. Elissa Pheneger recorded 34 assists and 15 digs in the victory. Pheneger moved over 1900 career helpers, making her just the second player in Rams history to reach that mark. With at least nine matches left this season and another full year of eligibility, Pheneger stands less than 600 assists from the NCU program record of 2473 set by Jennifer Meyerson (2004-06).

The Rams reached eight victories with their wins on Friday, moving them past last season's seven win total with nine matches remaining this year. They are back in action again today at Finlandia with a JV contest against Goegebic Community College (Ironwood, Mich.) and a varsity match against Grace Bible College (Grand Rapids, Mich.)